The government is spending millions of pounds in legal fees fighting the claims of sick miners in a move that lawyers say will recreate the mistakes of the past.

Miners suffering from knee problems and chronic lung disease from inhaling dust on the surface of pits were not included in a previous compensation scheme and are being forced to fight for compensation in the courts.

About 1,000 miners with knee injuries, caused by prolonged periods of kneeling, and walking long distances over uneven ground carrying heavy loads, have had their cases heard by Leeds county court and are awaiting transfer to the high court in London.

The Guardian has learned that the government, which is contesting the claims, has already incurred legal costs of up to £5m, a figure that is likely to double by the time the cases reach a full trial. The government's resistance to compensating the miners also means that any new schemes are likely to be complex, requiring further payments to lawyers.

"It's an absurd waste of public money," said John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, in Nottinghamshire. "The lessons from the previous cases have not been learned. By dragging this out in the courts and spending millions on legal fees, at the end there will be another court-initiated scheme where lawyers earn more money to handle the claims. Instead of fighting them [the government] should create a simple non-legalistic scheme that would compensate miners with a modest amount of money for things like the breathing equipment they need."

Anthony Patterson, a lawyer representing miners, added: "The Industrial Injury Advisory Council has recommended that miner's knee becomes a prescribed disease and yet we face litigation that will cost millions, with the real gainers being the legal profession."

The warnings come as further details emerge of the millions made by law firms for handling claims under the previous scheme, which compensated miners for health problems caused by underground work. The scheme, set up by the Department of Trade and Industry after it lost a test case brought by miners in 1998, has paid out £6.9bn - but more than half of this has gone to law firms. Sixty-seven law firms have been investigated for misconduct as a result, with one firm, Barnsley-based Raleys, currently appearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after it earned £92m under the scheme. The role of law firms has caused outrage in mining communities, with one former miner speaking of "a bonanza for lawyers".

Lawyers handling the current claims are calling for the government to reach a deal with miners. "If it is possible to devise a scheme that pays out to miners and avoids lawyers being involved, then that would absolutely be the right thing to do," said Tom Jones, of law firm Thompsons.